


The Artist Currently Known As Randy

by Nagasha



Category: BomBARDed (Podcast)
Genre: Found Families, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I promise this is mostly fluffy but there is some angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 02:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15159959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagasha/pseuds/Nagasha
Summary: Bards tend not to limit their creativity to just music, and Randy is no exception. It's just that getting Randy to share his art is harder than his bandmates expected.





	The Artist Currently Known As Randy

**Author's Note:**

> Heeeeeey, it's like 1 AM and I'm tired but I have a ton of feelings about Randy.

Yashee first noticed it after all that happened in Silkgrove. It was shortly after all that happened, after Raz’ul turned into a bear and then a mule for seemingly no reason- since, you know, they already had a horse to drive the carriage, but apparently, he just wanted to show off. And to be fair, if she could, Yashee would totally turn into a lynx all the time, so she couldn’t fault him for that, even if it would have been nice to talk more with him.

As it was, it was just her and Randy in the back, and he was clearly busy. He was hunched over in the corner, looking shifty- well, shiftier than normal- and he seemed to be writing something in that little journal they all got. Which, technically Yashee should be using, but… nah.

Anyway, it was much more interesting to focus on what Randy was writing, since as far as she could figure out, he couldn’t read? Or at least, he had some serious problems with it- he wouldn’t read the riddle or the sign before, and when they stole those books from Westley, he was holding them upside down and seemed not to notice.

And well… he was her bandmate, apparently, and so far, she liked him. He was pretty closed off, but he was also fun and funny, and he’s a respectable fighter- Yashee’s not sure it’s soon enough that she can say she’s her friend, but she can tell he could become one, and that’s honestly closer than she usually gets. So, as Randy’s almost-friend, it was her right to snoop around.

“So, what’re you writing?” She leaned in closer- they were on opposite sides and opposite corners of the carriage, but with her size alone, she took up almost half of it. It was enough that she didn’t have to move forward to reach him, but it gave him enough space so he didn’t feel threatened or try to jump out the back or something. He could be a skittish little guy, at times, and his posture right now was even worse- shoulders tucked in, knees up, chin to his chest, like he was trying to take as little space as possible even when the carriage was half empty.

His eyes darted up to her, then back to his book, then he lifted his head and gave her a cheeky grin. It didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Oh, just.. a little doodle, that’s all. Want to see?”

“Yeah sure,” Yashee tried to be casual, although she was excited about it. She never really got to draw much as a kid; considering how pencils and pens snapped in her grasp when she got too excited, she was lucky to learn how to write. It wasn’t really something she felt the urge to do much now, but she was happy that Randy liked it- and hey, maybe she could find out something about their littlest bard. 

She held her hand out, expecting Randy to pass her the book, but instead he gripped it tightly like he was afraid she’d snatch it away from him, and turned it around so she could see what he drew- it was Westley, only making a ridiculously pouty expression as he ran away. But the amount of detail was incredible, from the shape of his lips to his dinky little sidebraid. It was amazing the kinds of details Randy was able to fit in there in such a short amount of time, especially since he seemed so small on the page.

“Randy, this is… this is great,” Yashee said, stunned. At first his grip tightened even more on the notebook, but he relaxed once it was clear she approved. “But, why is he so small? Is that because your hands are so tiny?”

It was dumb, and she knew it was dumb once she said it, but when Randy laughed at it, it felt more like he was laughing with her, rather than at her. It was a good laugh, for all the sharp edges it had. “No, it’s just not done yet… I was planning on drawing us there too, actually.”

“Really?” Yashee felt her eyes go wide as she leaned in even closer. “That’s really nice. Thank you.”

Randy blinked, surprise so clear on his face even Yashee could see it. He looked like somebody who never had been called nice before. “Oh, uh… thanks. And… sorry about the pit, back there.”

A shiver ran down Yashee’s spine as she remembered what had happened, the feeling of dread and loneliness returning. Still, she smiled to try and put him at ease. “Hey, it’s okay. None of us would have known it would shut like that, so it was just an accident!”

“Yeah…” Randy agreed, but his expression became even more guarded as he turned his journal back around. “I’ll uh, I’ll show you the picture when it’s done, okay?”

“Sweet!” Yashee reached out and punched his shoulder- well, if you can call something so weak and so heavily telegraphed a punch. But for all that it was an orcish gesture, she didn’t want to rattle Randy too badly. He was tougher than he looked, but it also looked like he’s been through a lot.

He flinched, just a little, when her fist connected, but he straightened out too, like she pulled a huge weight off him just through touch alone. Randy took his book back, gave Yashee a jaunty salute, and got back to drawing their adventure.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, once they finally got to get into their dorms at Strumlotts and started to unpack, Randy declared that he needed Randy’s help to rearrange his furniture to make it more ‘halfling friendly’. Yashee wasn’t sure how they could do it, or what ‘halfling friendly’ would entail, but she was here to help him. Only, when she entered his room, all the furniture was already tiny and in place, and Randy shut the door behind them, an unreadable look on his face.

“Uh, Randy, are you okay?” Yashee knelt down to look at him better. She wasn’t nervous about the way Randy was acting, but she was cautious. “You’re acting kind of weird…”

Without looking up at her, Randy just thrust something in her direction. “Uh, here, you wanted to see it.”

Yashee took it from him, as gently as she could- she wasn’t built for gentleness, but she could try for a situation as delicate as this. It was the journal, Randy’s journal, with his apparently secret drawings that he only wanted her to see? Which was strange- she would have showed it to the world if she could draw as well as Randy could doodle- but there was probably a reason that he was scared to show his talents. (One day, Yashee would hopefully meet the reason for that, and she could punch it in the face.)

There wasn’t much in it yet, but there were quick little sketches- people, animals, little teddy bears (which was super cute and she would totally tease him for once they got to know each other later), and finally the finished drawing of Wesley, and of Chaos Sauce, although they weren’t labelled. But it was still obvious who they were- there was herself, towering over all the rest with her mallets raised in triumph, Raz’ul with his guitar almost ablaze with magic as a counterpoint to his good-natured smile, and then Randy himself was tucked in between, almost hiding of the shadows of the shading. Around them, magic and music notes flowed around them, giving the feel of their ensemble magic.

Yashee let herself trace the paper gently, being careful not to rip or smudge it. “Randy, this is amazing!”

Randy noticeably preened, like a very small peacock- wait, were halflings bigger than peacocks? Either way, he was visibly buoyed by her approval. “Oh, you know… just, something to do on a long ride…”

“Look at the flowers in Raz’ul’s hair! Look at your little smile! Look at my muscles, I look so beefy!” Sure, maybe she didn’t have to point out all the best parts of it, but it was making Randy happy and clearly people weren’t telling him this before. “Randy, you’re so good at art!”

He just gave a noncommittal shrug, and Yashee felt a shred of Rage echoing through her. How dare he not realize just how good he was, how could he not see his talents? Who made him think that his art wasn’t special, or that it wasn’t good?

But, Yashee swallowed it down and smiled. “Hey, you know what you should do?”

“Hmm?” Randy looked over- he already moved on from this, started unpacking his… honestly limited amount of stuff. “What is it?”

“You know how we’re supposed to write down our adventures and stuff? You should keep drawing it instead!” Yashee suggested, not just because his art was so good, or that she was pretty sure he couldn’t read well, but also because she just wanted him to keep drawing. 

Randy paused from where he was putting away his… one other set of clothes. “I’ll think about it. Thanks, Yashee.”

Yashee ruffled his hair, and Randy just smiled back at her. “No problem, little man.”

(Later, she’d find a drawing showed under her door- a pencil sketch, very carefully torn out of a small notebook. It was of herself, standing strong and flexing in front of a giant sandwich, while Randy and Razul were cheering her on from the sidelines. Smiling to herself, she tucked it gently next to the picture of her parents, for safekeeping.)


End file.
